


Trouble with a Capital D

by tessathetesla



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Parents, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Decisions, Dating, Don't Touch Lola (Agents of SHIELD), Drinking, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Ghostquake, Love Triangles, Man Out of Time, Marriage, Multi, Multi Chapter, Partying, Philinda - Freeform, Poker, Rehabilitation, Self-Defense, StaticQuake, Teenagers, Underage Drinking, Verbal Abuse, breaking rules, man out of time and quake, parenting, philindaisy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28805436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tessathetesla/pseuds/tessathetesla
Summary: Direct Sequel to The Zephyr Boarding School:Melinda May, ex-FBI agent turned teacher and Phil Coulson, history teacher, adopt Daisy Skye after being her mentor at the Zephyr Boarding School after finding out that her parents passed away in an FBI mission gone wrong.Melinda and Phil also get married, after finding out they loved each other after spending the year mentoring Daisy as teachers at the schoolDaisy graduates from the boarding school and enters the local college, while moving in with May and Coulson.May and Coulson find out how hard it is to parent a wild college student and are often at odds with each other with their parenting styles.Much to Phil's disapproval, Daisy is often caught breaking curfew, hanging out with some guys she's been interested in after meeting them at a party.Melinda wants to let Daisy just live her life and own up to her mistakes, and Phil has a hard time letting go, now that their daughter is 18.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Robbie Reyes/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 16
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

Phil Coulson looked at the clock and gave a huge sigh. Daisy had broken curfew, again. Ever since she had turned 18, Daisy had it in her mind that she was a fully fledged adult, and often ignored Phil and Melinda’s house rules. Phil had tried to explain, many times, that because Daisy lived under their roof, she had to follow some expectations.

One of those expectations was not to be out past 1 am, especially on the mornings she had an 8 am computer science course. It was now 1:37 am, and Phil had stayed up to try and see when she would come in. Melinda had complained, telling him he didn’t need to wait up for her. But his dad senses were tingling, and he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep if she wasn’t home.

The door quietly opened, and Daisy came in as silently as possible, only to see Phil standing in the hallway with his arms crossed.

“Oh. Hi dad. Still awake?” Daisy was caught. While she loved her dad, she still wasn’t used to having to be disciplined by him. Back at the boarding school, he was usually the one trying to get her out of trouble by talking to Fury.

“Yes, Skye. I can’t fall asleep while you’re still out. Third time this week that you broke curfew,” Phil kept a stern, but quiet tone, not wanting to wake Melinda.

“Dad, it’s Daisy.”

“Damn it, you’re right. Daisy. Sorry.” Phil shook his head. Daisy had found out that her name was Daisy over a year ago, and Phil still had a hard time with it, especially when he was angry or frustrated.

“Well, I’m going to bed, I have class in the morning,” Daisy brushed by Phil before he could answer, and realized she had done an amazing deflection by focusing on Phil’s mistake, not hers.

“That girl,” Phil said, then noticed a shadow behind him, and Mel’s arms wrapped around his back.

“And it’s your bedtime, too, Phil. Let’s go,” Melinda had led back Phil back to their bedroom, which was lightly decorated. Melinda liked a clean, calm space in which to sleep, and *ahem* do other activities.

“Fine, but we need to figure out how to deal with her constant rule breaking,” Phil said, reluctantly getting back into bed. He lost, again, to his 18 year old daughter.

“Not at 1:45, we are not. We’ll have a discussion about it when Daisy is in class tomorrow, then we’ll have a discussion with her.” Melinda finally got Phil to relax, by gently rubbing his shoulders as she cuddled into him.

The two fell asleep with May resting her head on Phil’s chest, and after awhile, Phil fell asleep to the calming presence of his wife’s slow breath on his heart.

>>>

The sound of the coffee grinder woke Phil up, and he noticed the time, 7:13 am. Melinda was making him coffee, before she had to scurry off to her 10 am meeting with one of her students.

Melinda and Phil still taught at the boarding school, but part time. Between settling into married life and adopting Daisy, the two needed more time together and with Daisy to make sure no one in the family was getting neglected.

Phil only had an afternoon class to teach today, then he was going to play poker with Leo Fitz, one of the students he had previously mentored at The Zephyr Boarding School. His girlfriend, Jemma Simmons, was taking Daisy to see the new Captain America movie. Jemma and Leo had become fast friends with Daisy, after meeting at Phil and Melinda’s wedding.

The three were going to the same college, and while Jemma and Leo were in the graduate programs, they still tried to meet up after classes and hang out. Phil was happy that Daisy had made some friends after graduating the Z. At least Phil wouldn’t have to worry about Daisy breaking curfew tonight. Jemma promised she would drop Daisy back off at home by 11 pm sharp.

“Phil! Your coffee is ready!” Phil was snapped out of his reverie to the sound of his wife’s voice. He entered the kitchen to see Melinda in her sports bra, sweaty from a 6 am HIIT class she took online.

“Hey Mel. You look hot this morning,” Phil said, loving it when his wife looked all sweaty and buff from her training.

“I still don’t understand why you think my sweaty body and messy hair is hot, but I’m glad you appreciate it,” Melinda kissed him before he drank his coffee. She still hated the taste of coffee, and liked to kiss him before he had his cup for the day.

Phil gave her a smirk at this comment, “I don’t know, Mel. Sweaty, messy hair, you in just a bra, sort of reminds me of something.” He grinned taking a sip of coffee and trying to kiss Mel right after.

“No coffee breath kisses, Phil. After you brush your teeth, then we can chat more about how you like me all hot and sweaty,” Melinda gave him a sly, smile as she grabbed his backside.

Just as Phil was going to say another sexy thing to his wife, he got a text from Daisy, “Hey. Wanted to say sorry for breaking curfew. I’ll try to do better next time.”

Phil read the text to Melinda, and she replied, “See, she apologized, no problem.”

Phil sighed frustratingly, “The problem is, Mel, she always breaks the rules and then apologizes. She knows I get soft when she does her apologies, and then I can’t stay mad at her. But she’s going to still break the rules.”

“Then let her, Phil,” Melinda answered, eating her protein shake that she made after her training session.

“What? Why should we let her break the rules?” Phil gave Melinda a confused look as he finished his coffee.

“Because she’s 18. She’s an adult. She does live under our household, yes. But she’s also an adult. She needs to learn, for herself, that breaking the rules, as an adult especially, has consequences. More consequences then when she was a minor. And we’ll be there to break her out of any trouble she needs. We give her the tools, train her right, and at the end of the day, it’s her choices, her life.” Melinda gave the same speech that her father had given to her mother, the day that Melinda had come home late after a raging party with friends.

She’d been 20 at the time, living at her parents in the summer while she worked. The cops had to break it up, but thankfully Melinda had made it out of there before she was arrested or cited, which of course would have put a wrench in her FBI dreams. After a friend had passed away in a drunken driving accident just a month later, she had sworn to never drink and drive, and actually stopped drinking all together for ten years.

Phil sat in his chair in silence, taking in what Melinda said. He’d lost his dad at 9 years old, and had never really had a father figure for much of his life. He wasn’t sure how dads were supposed to act, especially with an adult daughter.

“I guess you’re right, Melinda. As hard as it is for me to admit. Well, at least tonight, she’s hanging with Jemma, one of the better influences she has,” Phil sighed, deciding to follow Melinda’s advice. When he noticed they were both done with breakfast, he gave her a look.

“I need to shower, Phil. If you want to join me,” Melinda grinned as she started to remove her clothes as she made it to the bathroom.

Phil’s face reddened and his pulse quickened. “I’d thought you’d never ask.”

Melinda ended up being a little late to her meeting, which was fine, as her student had arrived even later than her. Phil cleaned up the bedroom as Melinda left, and got ready himself for his classes.

Being married was pretty amazing, Phil thought. Now, if only he could figure out this dad thing.


	2. Tutoring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy is trying to decide whether she wants to date street racer and bad boy Robbie or her scruffy confident biology tutor, Lincoln.
> 
> Phil and Melinda take the weekend away to celebrate their first anniversary, much to the caution of Phil. He's worried about leaving Daisy alone at home.
> 
> Daisy and Lincoln decide to study together at her house, and make some poor decisions.
> 
> [Underage drinking warning]

After the curfew incident, Daisy tried her best to focus on her studies, get home on time, and not trouble her parents too much. It made her heart ache how much Phil had been disappointed in her. It was hard for her to obey authority, and making the adjustment of Phil and Melinda being her parents versus just her mentors was tricky.

She really did want to gain her parents’ approval, but following rules just wasn’t her strong suit. The Boarding School had provided a good structure, even though she constantly broke rules there, there was only so much trouble she could get into. Now Daisy had to deal with deciding of who she wanted to date, go to parties, how much to study, or how much to just have fun.

Daisy had been interested in a guy named Robbie for a bit, but other than a few hang outs at parties, they hadn’t done much but share a few stolen kisses in his Dodge Charger. They weren’t dating, and she honestly wasn’t sure if Robbie was for her. He was a bit of a hothead, and didn’t have a lot of motivation to go to class or do his schoolwork. He’d already talked about dropping out and focusing on street races.

That made Daisy a bit hesitant as she thought her studies were important and wanted to join a high tech company as a programmer one day. Or maybe become a hacker for the FBI, follow in the footsteps of her mom. Of course, in order to go that route, she had to make sure she didn’t get in trouble with the law, like going on street races with Robbie.

So, when he asked her to go on the next race, she declined, instead deciding to follow up with her biology tutor, Lincoln. While Daisy was mostly a good student, especially when it came to her computer science classes, it was harder for her to focus on her general education studies. Hence, Lincoln the tutor. He was a few years older than her, scruffy blonde hair and a mischievous smile.

“Hey, Lincoln, wondering if you wanted to come over today to study. I have an exam on Monday, and I want to make sure I get an A this time. Phil, I mean dad, wasn’t very happy when I got a D last test,” Daisy had called Lincoln.

“Hey there, Dais. Yeah, sure I can come over. Your parents gonna be over?” Lincoln asked, because the last time he came over, Phil glared at him the whole, making him very uncomfortable.

“No, they are actually gone this weekend. It’s their 1st anniversary and decided to go on a little trip. They told me I had to focus on my studies this weekend,” Daisy rolled her eyes. It had been hard for her to say no to the many parties going on this weekend, but if she got a bad grade in her next bio exam, her parents were going to make her pay for extra summer classes.

“Really? Well, I’ll have to come over then. How about we study for a couple hours, and then hang out and watch a movie together? I’ll bring some snacks,” Lincoln replied. He’d been wanting to hang out with Daisy one on one for weeks, ever since he started to tutor her. He found her very attractive, funny, and smart. It had been hard to flirt with herunder the gaze of her father, Phil. But now he had a chance to have a little fun. He knew Daisy had been partying and hanging out with a rough crowd, so he’d hoped for a little quiet night with the both of them.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Daisy said, feeling a flutter in her stomach. It’d be the first time Lincoln and her would be spending time together alone. She really did need to study, and well if some cuddling happened afterwards, she didn’t think that would be too bad. Phil and Melinda cuddle on the couch all the time, Daisy should be able to with her guy friend, right?

>>>

Phil was barely touching his food out at the fancy restaurant that Melinda and him decided to go to.

“Phil, what’s wrong?” Melinda said, with an all knowing look.

“I just don’t feel comfortable leaving Daisy for a whole weekend,” Phil shifted in his chair, finally deciding to pop a meatball in his mouth.

“She’s fine. She hasn’t broke curfew in over a month, and we have Leo and Jemma checking in on her tonight. Daisy also told me she’s studying all day today, working on schoolwork with a friend,” Melinda answered, hoping her husband would calm down. She wanted to have a nice date with her husband.

“Is it that friend Lincoln? Because I don’t trust him. He has that look of a dark past,” Phil replied, crossing his arms in frustration.

“I don’t know, hon. But we have to give some trust to Daisy. Remember our talk from a bit ago?” Melinda answered, reminding Phil that their daughter had to make some mistakes in her life.

“Yes, I remember. Okay, I’ll just text Leo and see if he’ll check up on Daisy in a couple hours, okay? Make sure she’s still studying,” Phil replied, picking up his phone and shooting a quick text to his friend.

“Now, can we enjoy the rest of the evening? We’ve still got a hotel room to go to tonight,” Melinda gave a smile to her husband.

>>>

Lincoln came over carrying a back of drinks and snacks. Daisy noticed a couple beers and some vodka in the bag. “Lincoln, you do know I’m 18, right?”

He smiled, “Well in my home country of Australia, it’s 18. And most of us start at 16 anyway. So, since I’m here, I’m deeming this house part of my home country. And Daisy, last party I saw you down three jello shots, so I know you drink.”

Daisy laughed, “You’re such a dork. Naw it’s fine. We’ll just need to make sure to take out the trash after. My parents will definitely check the garbages when they get back.”

Lincoln gave her a look, “Wow, so they don’t trust you?”

Daisy shook her head, “Well, my mom is an ex-FBI agent and my dad has caught me breaking curfew a number of times, so no, they don’t trust me.”

Lincoln smiled, “Ha, I mean, I guess they aren’t wrong. Alright, let’s focus on the work and then we can celebrate.”

Daisy grinned, happy that Lincoln brought her some food and drinks. She knew it wasn’t the best idea, but he was so cute, and it’s not like it was the first time she drank. She actually really liked drinking, and had snuck some of her parents’ whiskey from time to time. And course, she drank at parties, but tried to limit it so her parents wouldn’t smell alcohol on her breath when she came home.

The two settled on the couch, and Lincoln quizzed her on the exam problems.

“Hey, you actually studied this week!” Lincoln was impressed. Usually, Daisy had a much harder time focusing.

“I just needed the proper motivation, Lincoln,” She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

He blushed, then looked over to the fridge. “You know, I think it’s time to celebrate. So, my favorite thing to do, is take a shot of vodka, and pour it over the beer. Seriously, so good.”

Daisy frowned, “That sounds disgusting, Lincoln. Here, at the last party I went to, we did vodka and lemonade. I’m not that much into beer.”

Lincoln laughed, “Alright, that’s probably better.”

The two made drinks, quite strong, as Lincoln really liked his vodka. He had to admit it was a bad habit, but so far he hadn’t gotten into too much trouble with it, at least he’d never been caught doing stupid things while drunk. Besides, if the night went as he’d hoped, he wouldn’t be driving home anyways. So, no harm done.

After two strong drinks, Lincoln and Daisy settled onto the couch to watch Shaun of the Dead. He began to play with her hair, and she began to rub her hand down his leg.

Ding-dong! The door bell sounded. “Expecting anyone, Daisy?”

Daisy put her hand to her head, “It’s my friends Leo and Jemma. My dad wanted them to check on me. Quick, get the biology book back out.”

Daisy went to answer the door, to see a smiling Leo and Jemma, “Hey Daisy! You know, we decided to just come over and keep you company. Maybe quiz you on your bio exam!”

Daisy looked in shock. Thankfully, Lincoln had parked a few blocks away, so his car wasn’t in the driveway. They didn’t know he was here. She silently thanked Lincoln for his foresight.

“Hey, that’s really sweet of you guys. But I’m actually about to go to bed. I’m feeling not very good. You know, that time of the month. So I’m just gonna go to bed with a heating pad and eat some ice cream,” Daisy hoped they couldn’t smell the alcohol or Lincoln’s cologne on her.

“Oh I could stay and help you, Daisy, I know a great cramps remedy that—“ Jemma said, much to Leo’s embarrassment.

“Hey Jem, I appreciate that, but I really don’t like being around people during it, okay? I get really grumpy.” Daisy hated lying to her friends, but she really wanted this evening with Lincoln to go well.

“Well, good news is I brought some chocolate over, so we’ll just leave you to that. Text me tonight if you need anything,” Jemma said, giving her the bars of chocolate.

Leo and Jemma left, and Daisy breathed a sigh of relief.

Lincoln laughed, “That was perfect, Daisy. You are such a good liar, it’s kind of scary.”

Daisy went back to Lincoln’s arms. “Well, I’ve had some practice.” She kissed him deeply, and folded himself into his arms.

The two started kissing more, and began to caress each other, “Hey, let’s go to your bedroom,” Lincoln suggested. He felt a little exposed with the blinds open in the living room.

Daisy and Lincoln ran to her room, which was an absolute mess. “Oh.”

“Is there another bedroom around?” Lincoln said breathlessly.

“My parents?” Daisy knew this was a bad idea. But she was drunk and that was lowering her judgment, “It’s all good, we’ll tidy up after.” She slurred. Wow, she had drank more than she realized.

If Daisy hadn’t consumed 5 shots of Vodka, she would have realized that this whole night was a terrible, horrible idea. But alcohol made some people make very poor decisions. Especially horny college students.

The two made it onto Phil and Melinda’s bed, made from the morning before they left. Before long, clothes were off, and the two were fully immersed in each other.

After a bit, they fell asleep, unaware of anything but each other.

Then…a car door slammed.


	3. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda and Phil deal with the aftermath of Daisy and Lincoln's decisions.
> 
> Lincoln opens up about his addiction.
> 
> [Angst, alcohol addiction warnings]
> 
> This is not a dig on Lincoln. I liked him in AoS, but I tried to imagine him pre-afterlife, when he was an alcoholic and had a troubled past. Daisy is also 18 and making poor decisions. I think StaticQuake worked in the show, and both of them would have been really good together once they both matured a bit. This is showing two very immature versions of themselves, which is why it really doesn't work well.

Daisy woke up with a start, she looked at the time, it was 11 pm, then she looked at her Apple watch, which showed several missed calls and texts, from Leo, Jemma, Phil, and Melinda. Then she realized where she was. In her parents bed. With Lincoln.

“Oh shit. Lincoln, get up NOW!” She shook him awake. “My parents are here, you need to get out of here!”

Lincoln quickly got dressed, as they both heard the front door open, and heard, “Daisy, are you here? You okay, Daisy?”

Lincoln fled out the window, thankfully, Melinda and Phil’s bedroom was on the first floor. Daisy grabbed her clothes and started the bath, it wasn’t that rare that she took a bath in her parents’ bathroom, it was a very nice jacuzzi tub.

“Up here! Just getting ready for a bath!” Daisy grabbed one of Melinda’s robes from the bathroom.

Phil came up to the room and said “You decent?” Living with a teenager daughter had its awkward moments.

“Yes, I’m fine, come on in, what’s wrong?” Daisy put on an innocent face, then realizing the bed was all messy.

“What’s wrong is we’ve been trying to call and text you for 4 hours, no one could get a hold of you, so Mel and I drove back to check on you,” Phil replied, seeing the bed ruffled and crossing his arms.

“Oh, I fell asleep. Yeah, on your bed, I was feeling sick, so my room is super messy, and…”

Melinda came in with a very tussled up Lincoln in tow. “How do you explain your tutor hiding in the bushes?”

Daisy gave a look that knew she’d been caught, “Oh. I. Um.”

Phil then replied, “And the alcohol on the counter.”

“And the fact that I see Lincoln’s school ID on the floor.” Melinda said, pointing to the ground. She was excellent at observation.

“You two, come to the living room. NOW. Daisy, get dressed.” Phil said with a very stern and angry tone.

“Lincoln. How old are you?” Melinda asked, pointing to the alcohol once they were downstairs.

“I’m 23, ma’am.” He said, trying to keep a serious look on his face.

“And do you know how old Daisy is?” Melinda answered, anger showing in her face.

“18 ma’am. But you know, I’m from Australia and the drinking age there is 18. So I just figured it was the same here.” Lincoln tried to feign innocence.

Phil butt in, “You’re going to med school, that excuse isn’t going to work. The real question is, why did you bring alcohol to an underage woman, and get her drunk?”

Lincoln was feeling pressure under the heat, “I asked Daisy, she agreed to it. She’s the one who made the drinks, and made them as strong as she wanted.”

Daisy looked over in annoyance at Lincoln, “Yeah, but you also didn’t tell me how much is too much”

Melinda raised her hand, “Blaming each other isn’t helpful. You two both made some mistakes here. One: lying to your friends about being sick, which clearly you weren’t. Two: drinking when one is underage. Three: getting drunk four: doing it in our bed. five: trying to cover it up.”

Daisy gulped, when laid out like that, it was really bad. What was she thinking? She got drunk, she got laid in her parents bed, and lied to her friends. At this rate, she’d never be able to leave the house ever again.

Daisy kept quiet, feeling the guilt and shame wash over her. Melinda looked over at Lincoln, “I’m going to take him home. Lincoln, you can get your car tomorrow. But based on your eyes, you’ve drank way too much to drive home.”

Phil crossed his arms, “And Daisy and I will have a nice little chat about what happened tonight.”

Melinda grabbed Lincoln’s arm hard, and put him in the passenger seat. She looked at him with a glare that made Lincoln want to crawl in a hole and never come out.

“I don’t like what you did to my daughter, Lincoln. Look, I know you both agreed to it. But it was a wrong, and a bad decision. Knowingly bringing alcohol to an underage student, while you are her tutor, is a huge mistake. I will be contacting the university. You’ll be lucky if you aren’t thrown out of med school for this.” Melinda was angry beyond belief, but kept her tone level and calm.

“I’m really sorry, Mrs. May-Coulson. I made a big mistake. I really like Daisy, and wanted to impress her. I knew she was interested in tough guys based on one of the parties we’d been to, and I wanted to show her I could be kind of a bad boy too,” Lincoln felt his guilt eating him up.

“That’s a discussion I’ll have to have with her later. I want to share you a story, Lincoln. I was a bit of a partier too in my college days. Nearly got caught by the cops, which would have destroyed my chance at going into the FBI. I narrowly escaped the party. I got in big trouble with my parents though. The next month, I went to another party, but decided to leave when it got too crazy. I tried to convince my friend, Andrew, to leave too. But he decided to stay. That night, he died in a drunk driving accident. After, that, I stopped going to parties all together, and didn’t touch alcohol for another ten years. And now, I’m very careful with how much I consume. You see, Lincoln. I don’t want Daisy to become another Andrew. I don’t want you to become another Andrew. There comes a time in your life when you have to make a decision. And you need to decide whether you are going to continue making poor decisions, or decide to grow up and change your life.”

Lincoln looked at her with tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry to hear about that. Yeah…I drink and drive, more often than I should. I wasn’t planning on driving tonight though, but I was planning on staying the night with Daisy. Which was also a poor decision. We aren’t even dating.”

Melinda was reminded of the fact that her daughter slept with a man in her bed. “And you won’t ever be. Lincoln, you are not allowed in our house, near Daisy, or become a tutor of hers again. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s clear. Um…do you have a rehab that you recommend? I…I drink a lot. To me, five shots is nothing. But to Daisy, it was a lot. We went too far, too fast. I often have that much or more vodka nearly every day. It’s bad. I’ve been trying to quit, but didn’t know where to turn. I felt ashamed.” Lincoln was beginning to have his headache, which usually he cured with drinking another shot.

“I can take you to a place right now.”

“Okay.”

Melinda took Lincoln to the best rehab clinic in the area, and promised she would keep tabs on him. She had appreciated his honesty, and realized that what happened with Daisy was a cry for help. It still didn’t change the mistake he made with her daughter, but she was at least relieved that he was getting the help he needed. She texted Phil to let him know why it was taking longer to get home.

>>>

“Dad…”

“Let me speak, Daisy,” he held a finger up to her to silence her.

Daisy closed her mouth.

“Daisy. I love you. You are my daughter, my precious, amazing, smart daughter. But you are also making very poor decisions right now. Getting drunk, letting this guy in our house, in MY bed, I just, what were you thinking? Did you think you wouldn’t get caught? That we wouldn’t know?” Phil felt his heartbreak.

“I…I’m sorry, Dad. I…don’t know how to make boundaries. I get an idea, and I do it. Then I don’t think about the consequences. How you and mom would feel. How I feel, after. I feel horrible. I messed up. Bad,” Daisy began to sob.

Phil wrapped her up in his arms, “I forgive you Daisy.”

Phil held her for a long time, long enough that Daisy fell asleep. He looked at the messy kitchen and began to clean it up. What a way to celebrate a first anniversary. He began to cry himself, feeling like a failure of a father. How did things go so wrong so quickly?

Melinda came home, and told Phil what had happened with Lincoln. It was a lot to take in, but Phil was thankful that Lincoln opened up to Mel, and that he was getting the help that he needed.

The two wrapped each other in a hug, tears mixing and they comforted each other. They didn’t know how to move forward with their daughter, but at the moment, they had each other, and the both of them knew they loved their daughter, and loved each other very much. Parenting wasn’t easy.


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy, Phil, and Melinda talk about what happened the night before. Daisy is grounded, but she accepts that she needs the help.
> 
> Phil and Melinda decide to stop drinking, and get rid of any alcohol in the house.
> 
> Melinda and Daisy have some mom-daughter bonding, and talk to their neighbor, Daniel Sousa.

Melinda and Phil were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping their hot drinks in silence as they processed the events of the night before. Daisy was still asleep, and they had a feeling she’d had one killer hangover.

Phil was the first one to break the silence, “So, what are we going to do with our Daisy?”

Melinda took another drink of her tea, and responded, “First off, we’ll tell her about Lincoln going into rehab. Then, we’ll tell her that for the foreseeable future, she can only go to class, be home with us, or be with Leo and Jemma. I also think we need to get rid of any alcohol in our house. Clearly, the temptation is too great, and she’s had the taste of it now, apparently, at multiple events.”

“I agree. We don’t want her to feel isolated, but we also can’t have her going off to parties and drinking, and getting herself into precarious situations with guys. Because if she goes to the wrong party, with the wrong people, she’s going to get hurt.” Phil shuddered to think of his daughter being taken advantage of at a party.

“Yes. We can create boundaries, while also making sure she still gets to spend time with friends, friends we know won’t get her in trouble,” Melinda agreed, deciding that now that boundaries were important for Daisy.

“You guys talking about me, I assume?” Daisy came down the stairs in her pajamas, holding her head.

“Yes, sweetie, just trying to figure how what your rules will be,” Phil said, giving her an empathetic look.

“Yeah, I need them. Clearly. Why does my head hurt so bad?” Daisy sat down and looked sick.

“Because you had like five shots last night,” Melinda answered, crossing her arms.

Daisy replied, “It was way more than that, actually. I think I did five shots PER drink. And we had two drinks. And then maybe some beers? I don’t remember. Ugh.”

Phil grimaced, “That’s…a lot, Daisy. No wonder you feel awful. Here, let me get you some ginger tea.”

Melinda gazed into Daisy’s brown eyes with a somber look, “I wanted to tell you, Daisy, that Lincoln asked to go to rehab last night. So, he’s there now.”

Daisy shook her head in disbelief, “Wait, what? I mean, I knew Lincoln drank, but I figured not any more than a normal person our age.”

Melinda frowned, “No, he admitted to be that he drinks about a bottle of vodka every day. Daisy, I think what happened last night was a call for help. He wanted to get caught. He told me he was ashamed, and didn’t know how to ask for help.”

Daisy sobered up at this, “Whoa. I didn’t realize. He seemed so cool, confident. Wow. I, I don’t know what to say.”

Phil gave her the tea as she slowly sipped on it, “Point is, Daisy, we don’t want you to get to the point where Lincoln is. He has a long, hard road ahead of him. Becoming sober is very difficult. Now, he’s at a great facility, and we are gonna keep checking in on him. But, I don’t really feel comfortable with you contacting him while he’s in there. Maybe some letters back and forth. But he needs to figure out himself right now.”

His daughter nodded in reply, “Yes, appears like it. I need to figure out myself too. I’m so sorry again, for last night. I ruined your first anniversary. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Melinda gave her a hug, “I know you will. You can start by aceing your exam on Monday, okay?”

Daisy grinned, “Okay mom, I will.”

The rest of the day, Phil helped quiz Daisy to prep for her test, while Melinda made her a healthy smoothie. Melinda called up a friend who would take the alcohol off their hands.

Phil reluctantly handed over his favorite whiskey bottle, which hadn’t even been opened yet. It had been a first anniversary gift from Melinda. But he knew it was a good cause. They had all decided to stop drinking for a time, in order to help Daisy not feel alone.

Once Daisy felt better from the alcohol burning off in her system, she joined Melinda for a short run outside. The fresh air and sunshine did wonders for how she felt. Maybe it wasn’t so bad being grounded, Daisy thought. Honestly, Daisy, thought, the way she acted the night previous was also a call for help. She needed boundaries, she needed rules. But she also needed to know that her parents cared for her no matter what.

As Daisy and Melinda ran, they saw their neighbor, Daniel Sousa, waving at them. They ran over to say hi.

“Daniel! How are you?” Melinda waved at him.

“Doing well! Taking the time to work on my car. Hey, do you think Mr. Coulson will ever let me work on Lola?” Sousa had been very impressed with Lola ever since the May-Coulson’s moved in.

Daisy shook her head, “Danny Boy, he won’t even let me drive the thing.”

Sousa gave her a look, “Danny boy?”

Melinda chuckled, “Daisy isn’t in full capacity of her senses right now. A rough night last night.”

Sousa raised his eyebrows, “Is that what I heard last night? There was definitely some slamming of doors and I think I saw someone in the bushes? Is everything okay? A break-in?”

Daisy immediately reddened, feeling ashamed.

Melinda answered for her, “Just some college kid antics. Nothing to worry about Sousa. Thanks for your concern though. You might be seeing Daisy and I running in the neighborhood more together though. Feel free to join us anytime.

It was Daniel’s turn to blush this time, “Wish I could, but an old army injury makes it so I can’t really run anymore. Got shot in the knee.”

Daisy looked at him agape, “Whoa! That’s intense. Um, sorry to hear that, Daniel.”

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I get to live a quiet life now, in this beautiful neighborhood, next door to some very cool and interesting people,” Sousa answered, giving a grin.

That eased Daisy’s fears, “Oh. Well, glad to hear that. Maybe we can have you over sometime for games! It would be nice to have a fourth for poker.”

Melinda gave Daisy a curious look. She seemed to be fond of Daniel, and he was a far cry from a guy like Lincoln. Daniel was an injured vet, who regularly volunteered at the local school and was part of the neighborhood watch. He was what some would consider old fashioned and a gentleman. While Melinda didn’t want Daisy dating anyone for a bit, Daniel could provide a nice friendship and a good influence for Daisy.

“I’m always up for a good night of poker. Let me know the next time you’ll play. I’ll bring over my famous cherry pie,” Daniel gave them a friendly grin.

Daisy stood there was a stupid smile on her face, and Melinda interrupted her reverie, “Alright, Daisy, let’s get back and see what Phil is making us for dinner. See you Daniel.”

“Yeah, bye Daniel!”

Daisy and Melinda went back into the house and Daisy went to go change and freshen up before dinner.

Phil saw Melinda smile, “What is it Mel? You look much happier than you did this morning. The run went well with Daisy?”

Melinda sat down next to her husband on the couch, “Yes, it went really well. We had a nice chat. And we talked to Daniel, our neighbor a bit. Daisy invited him over for poker, sometime. He might be a good distraction from Lincoln.”

Phil put his arm around his wife and stroked her hair, “That is good. Daniel’s a great guy! Did you know that he’s the one who fixed the fence after the windstorm last winter?”

“Yes, I didn’t realize you were such a big fan of him,” Melinda mused, leaning into Phil’s shoulder.

“I am! If that’s one guy I wanted my daughter to eventually date, it’d be him. He has my stamp of approval already,” Phil smiled like a fanboy.

Melinda couldn’t help but chuckle, “Well, for now, let’s just have her focus on becoming friends with him, and her studies, and her not getting into any more trouble.”

“Amen to that,” Phil agreed. This evening was already going much better than the evening before, when they couldn’t get a hold of Daisy, and then finding out the trouble she got in.

“Mom, dad, I’m hungry, I want dinner,” Daisy complained as she came downstairs in a fresh outfit.

“Alright, Daisy, I’ll start making us some steaks, how does that sound, ladies?” Phil answered, referring to his wife and daughter.

Melinda and Daisy gave a resounding YES and worked together to set the table. While Melinda and Daisy were pretty much failures in the kitchen, they were good at cleaning up the kitchen in prep for Phil’s amazing cooking.

Maybe things didn’t seem so bad, after all.


	5. Celebrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy finished her first year of college with good grades, and her friends throw her a celebration.
> 
> Daniel and Daisy enjoy some time together, Daisy begins to have feelings for Daniel.
> 
> Phil and Melinda are proud of their daughter, for working hard and staying out of trouble, and are given a weekend off thanks to Leo and Jemma.
> 
> Lincoln is out of rehab and contacts Daisy.

Daisy had completed her first year of college with almost all A’s. Leo and Jemma threw her a small celebration, inviting Phil, Melinda, and Daniel Sousa, who’d become a good friend during Daisy’s months of school and home only life. Daisy hadn’t drank since that night with Lincoln, hadn’t gone to any parties, and hadn’t dated anyone.

She’d focused on school, working out with her mom, becoming a card shark by playing poker with her dad all the time, and even got a job at the local coffee shop.

It had been hard, there were so many times that Daisy had wanted to sneak out and go to a party. But she had resisted. And now reaping the rewards of a great finish to her freshman year at college.

Daisy had even heard that Lincoln was out of rehab, and while she’d hoped Leo and Jemma would invite him, but they decided to keep the celebration small. Besides, Phil and Melinda had been nervous about telling Daisy about Lincoln coming out of rehab. They really didn’t want the two spending time together. Of course, Daisy already knew, as she had been secretly chatting with Lincoln on a phone he found in rehab. However, Daisy had been spending more time with their neighbor, Daniel, even as just friends.

Which is why Phil was especially happy that Daniel and Daisy were getting along so well these days. Daisy had told her dad that she didn’t like Daniel in a romantic way. That was fine for Phil, as he didn’t want his daughter dating right now anyways. Between school, work, and her other activities, a boyfriend would just be a distraction. But if Daniel asked her out, he wouldn’t say no to that relationship.

Leo and Jemma also had another surprise, and gave Phil and Melinda an envelope that said “To Daisy’s parents”which included a voucher for a weekend stay at a bed and breakfast on the beach. The voucher also said that Leo and Jemma would stay with Daisy at the house and plan a whole fun weekend together.

Leo gave his former mentor a hug, “You’ve done so much for me, and so much for Daisy, that Jemma and I figured it was finally time for a weekend away for you two.”

Phil beamed with excitement. Melinda and him had not gotten much of a break in the last few months. Between the extra time spent with Daisy, and finishing up classes at the boarding school for the year, Phil and Mel hadn’t been able to get away.

It would be a nice break, and he appreciated the fact that Leo and Jemma would stay with Daisy. While he trusted Daisy more now, he also knew that there was always a risk that she could go rogue on them. Not only that, but Lincoln was out of rehab and he knew that she still liked him. That temptation to see him would be there.

But for now, Phil just had to revel in seeing his daughter be excited about good grades, having a fun job, and good friends.

Melinda came over to wrap her arm around Phil, “So, is that smile for Daisy or for us finally being able to go away for a weekend?”

Phil gave her a kiss on her head as she leaned into him, “Can it be both?”

“Yes, it can be both. Come on, let’s go have the cake and coffee,” Melinda answered, pouring herself some tea, made of course, by Jemma, who was British. But Daisy had brought some cold brew from her coffee shop, and that’s what Phil, Daisy, and Fitz decided to have.

Phil raised his coffee in a toast, “To our daughter Daisy, for putting in the work for good grades, for getting a job, and for thankfully staying out of trouble these last few months. It’s been amazing spending more time with you as a family, and I hope that even as you grow older, you won’t forget the great times we’ve had together.”

Daisy grew red with this toast, “Dad, you make it sound like I’m moving out. Wait, you aren’t kicking me out, are you?”

Phil shook his head, “No, of course not. I’m just saying, between work, school, friends, that your mom and I won’t be seeing you as much. You’ll be creating a life for yourself.”

Daisy looked relieved, “Here, here!”

Then Melinda stood up to do a toast, “Daisy, you are an amazing and strong young woman. I’ve been so proud of you for working on yourself, to become the woman I know that you can be. It’s been an amazing few months getting to know you better as a friend and as your mom.”

Daisy started crying, Melinda had never shared such warm words to her before. She ran over and gave Melinda a big hug, which surprised Mel. Then Phil came over and gave them a hug.

“It’s a Daisy sandwich!” Jemma said and ran over to join the group hug. Leo reluctantly walked over and put his arms around the group. Daniel just stood there awkwardly, unsure if he should join the hug. He’d gotten to know all of them well over the last few months, but wasn’t sure if he was part of the “family” yet. Instead, he decided to take a photo of the five of them.

After they all had ate their fill of cake and coffee and tea, it was finally time for Phil, Melinda, and Daisy to head home. Daisy had to wake up early for her coffee shift, and Melinda had to go to the school to clean up her classroom the next day.

The May-Coulson family made it home, to see Daniel Sousa also pulling in, as he had taken a separate car to the Leo and Jemma’s house. He smiled at Lola coming into the driveway.

“Hey there Philindaisy fam! Long time, no see, haha” Sousa waved at the three. “You know, Mr. Coulson, I would love to work on your car one day.”

Phil just gave a smile to his friendly neighbor, “I know, Daniel, as you tell me every time we see each other. Including just a few minutes ago at the party.”

Daniel shrugged, “Gonna keep asking until you at least show me under the hood.”

Phil laughed, “Alright, you win, Daniel. Come on over and take a look.”

Daisy hung around as the two men looked at the engine of Lola, shyly looking at Daniel. Melinda, of course, noticed, and whispered to Daisy, “I thought you told dad that you didn’t like him like that.”

“I…don’t know. He looks pretty cute over there with dad, geeking out about Lola,” Daisy started blushing. “But, I don’t know. Lincoln i out of rehab, and I kind of want to see him again.”

“Daisy…”

Before Melinda could continue, Daniel approached the two women, “Hey Daisy, wanted to say again, congrats on finishing your first year of college. So I convinced Mr. Coulson to give me a ride in Lola, you wanna join us?”

Melinda gave her a little shove, so Daisy answered, “Sure!” and Melinda gave Phil a wink, and a small smile at Daniel and Daisy.

“Hey Daniel, why don’t you and Daisy sit in the back seat, honestly the ride is much better back there.” Melinda had known Phil was trying to play matchmaker with Daniel and Daisy, and considering Daisy had mentioned she still liked Lincoln, better join the matchmaker train with her husband.

“Oh, okay. Thanks Mrs. May-Coulson,” Daniel joined Daisy in the backseat.

“Just call me, May, Daniel.”

“Okay, May.”

The whole ride in Lola, Daniel and Phil talked about all the stats of the car, how fast it reached 60, what the gas mileage was, and how Phil got the custom paint job. Daisy couldn’t help but smile to see her dad and her neighbor geek out with each other about cars. Maybe Daniel would be a guy she’d like to date.

Daisy checked her phone, and she got a notification on it. It was Lincoln. He wanted to hang sometime now that he was out of rehab. Daisy ignored the message for now. She was enjoying sitting in the back with Daniel, relaxing into his shoulder. Phil, of course, noticed, but didn’t say anything. After a time, he put on some classic rock, and the three just sat in silence, listening to music, and watching the fading sunset.

“Well, let’s get you two back,” Phil said, breaking the silence. He looked back, and saw Daisy asleep on Daniel’s shoulder, and Daniel looking at her with such care.

Daniel gave him a small, embarrassed shrug, but Phil just winked and carried on. He took the long way home, and by the time they got back, Daisy had stirred awake. Daniel and her were holding hands, and she had grown comfortable on his shoulder.

“That was fun, Daisy. And Mr. Coulson, of course. Thank you for the ride. Hey, Daisy, wanna go out to eat after you get home from work tomorrow? I have a burger joint I really like,” Daniel and Daisy were still holding hands, but finally broke it off to get out of the car.

“Uh, sure, Daniel. Let’s do that,” Daisy smiled, then grinned even more when Daniel gave her a kiss on a cheek and a hug. It was pretty embarrassing in front of her dad, but she knew that Phil had been wanting her to get focused off Lincoln for awhile now.

Daisy made it up to her room, and texted Lincoln back before heading off to sleep, “Hey Linc. I can’t hang out for a few days, I have lots of work shifts now that I’m done with school. But, next weekend, my parents are going away. I’ll be hanging with Leo and Jemma, but I’ll find a way to get to you.”

Daisy pressed send and her heart pumped. She’d enjoyed holding Daniel’s hand tonight and falling asleep against him in her dad’s car. But Lincoln also was her first. She still felt very connected to him. She felt bad about lying to her parents again, while they had officially shared some letters, Lincoln and Daisy had been texting each other back and forth every night. Phil and Melinda did not know of this.

Daisy sighed. Daniel the geeky, old fashioned neighbor? Or Lincoln, the sexy, scruffy troublemaker? And of course, there was Robbie, who’d been trying to chat her up on Snapchat, but she put him at the bottom of the list.

That night, Daisy dreamt of riding in the back of Lola, with the guy she was sitting next to switching between Daniel and Lincoln. She woke up feeling really confused, and to a text from Daniel that said “I’ll pick you up at 3 today!”

She responded, “Okay, Danny. Is this a date?”

“It can be if you want, I’m paying regardless.”

“Okay it’s a date.”


	6. On the Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Completely self-indulgent Philinda chapter. 
> 
> Phil and Melinda finally get a chance to get away since adopting Daisy. Leo outdid himself by booking them a rental on a private beach. 
> 
> [Foreplay, kissing, caressing warning (still a teen rating)]

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and Phil was smiling ear to ear. Melinda and him had just pulled up to their beach rental, which was right on the ocean. It was a very fancy place, Phil was shocked Leo was able to get this. He said it was a friend’s rental, and got him a discounted price. Even at a discount this place seemed too nice. But Phil certainly wasn’t complaining.

Melinda had packed her red bikini, which she’d purchased just for the trip. It was going to be a hot one at the beach, and Melinda had wanted to show it off to her husband. Even more impressive, the rental was on a private beach, with no other properties in sight.

Phil silently thanked Leo, and reminded himself to get the two a nice thank you gift when they got back from the weekend.

“Come on, Phil, let’s get settled!” Phil shook his head and grabbed their bags to put in the room. The view took his breath away. It was a 150 degree view of the beach and ocean. He finished unpacking the car and noticed Melinda had sneaked off to the bedroom.

“Wow. It’s beautiful,” he looked over and saw Melinda coming back to the living room and had slipped into something more comfortable.

“Oh. Even more beautiful,” Phil smirked, as he walked toward his wife.

They wasted no time to start making out, clothes flinging, and both enjoying uninterrupted time together. Which also meant shouts of joy, which was harder to do with a teenager daughter living at your house.

Phil looked over at his wife’s resting form, who had pulled out a book while he grabbed water for the both of them. “So, are we actually even going to make it on the beach on this trip?” He laughed, caressing Mel’s back.

Melinda chuckled, “Phil, we’re almost 50, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to stay in bed all weekend.”

Her husband stretched out his hips, “Yeah, you’re right. How about I finished putting everything away while you read. Then I’ll make us dinner and we’ll watch the sunset on the beach.”

“That sounds perfect,” Melinda gave Phil a kiss as he went out of the room to finish unpacking.

“Hey, did you pack this?” Phil came scurrying back in the room, with a bottle of his favorite whiskey in hand.

“Well, yes. I got it back from my friend who was holding on to it for us. I was just waiting till we could get away to have some,” Melinda smiled.

“Oh, thank you, thank you!” Phil swung around the room.

“Phil, get some pants on,” Melinda laughed.

Phil looked down, “What? you like it!”

“Little bit.”

“Psh. Okay, I’ll put some pants on. And I thought I could spent this whole weekend naked,” Phil joked, as he grabbed his pants and threw on a shirt. He really wouldn’t cook with no clothes on, he’d hardly made that mistake in college once. Oil burn. He shuddered at the memory. So he threw on his clothes and made it to the kitchen to start cooking up dinner.

Phil began to make dinner, and Melinda finally got out of the bed and put on a short cotton dress, low cut, red, with a tropical print on it. 

“Oh, that looks beautiful on you, Mel.”

Melinda grinned at her husband’s compliment as she walked toward him. She’d bought it just for the occasion. She knew Phil would enjoy it. He loved red on her, as well as anything sparkly. Melinda usually preferred to wear black slacks and a simple shirt, but for Phil she sometimes bought something she knew would take his breath away.

“Figured I needed some new clothes for the weekend,” She began to caress his hip.

“Hey, I’m cooking in here. No grabbing. You’ll make it spill something,” Phil said half jokingly. He’d split coffee before on his pants once when Melinda had grabbed him from behind.

“I just love getting your reaction,” Mel smirked, moving away from Phil and getting plates and glasses out.

The two enjoyed a lovely salmon dinner, complete with a salad and potatoes. Then, Phil poured out two big glasses of whiskey to take to the down to the beach.

They walked down hand in hand, the sand going in between their bare toes.

“I can’t believe it’s been almost two years now since we got married,” Phil said, as they sipped their whiskey and watched the sunset.

Melinda squeezed his hand, “I know, I never thought I would find someone. Being the age we are, I had given up on a relationship. But then, we were put together, to help Daisy, and everything just came together.”

Phil leaned in to give Mel another kiss,“Mmm, you taste amazing in the ocean sun.”

“I never thought, when I first met you, that you would be the world’s best kisser,” Melinda answered, kissing her husband again.

“The geekiest ones have the best lips. It’s a known fact,” Phil said in between sips of whiskey and Melinda sucking on his bottom lip.

“I think you’re right,” Melinda finished her whiskey and set it down, grabbing her husband tight, her head on his chest. The two could spend all their time kissing on the beach, but with the sunset almost finished, they brought their attention back to the sun.

“If only we could have met earlier. All the years we could’ve had together,” Phil mused, knowing that while they were still in great shape, eventually, they would get older. And things would get harder.

“I know. I’m not sure I would have dated you, back then, when I was an FBI agent. I didn’t date civilians. But then when I retired, I started realizing I could begin again. But of course, I met you, and well, you’re the only one I really dated after, you know,” Melinda was referring to her ex-fiancee Andrew, who turned out to be a snake.

“We don’t need to talk about him. Let’s just talk about us. So, Daisy will be probably moving out on her own in the next year or so, which means, we can take more trips, maybe go travel the world. I’ve always wanted to read in Irish pubs and drink whiskey,” Phil shared, realizing he had all these dreams and finally someone to share them with.

“That sounds a little nerdy to me,” Melinda softly laughed as she kept her head on her husband’s chest, feeling his breath go in and out.

“Says the woman who brought her favorite book to the beach and started reading it after I laid you,” Phil chuckled, enjoying his wife’s touch on him.

“Fine, Phil, we’ll go to your Irish pubs. As long as you take me to the beach often, and make love with me with the ocean waves in the background,” Melinda gave him another kiss, licking his lips after.

“So…is that an invitation for another round, or…?” Phil’s breath started to quicken again.

“Not in the sand though, let’s go back up,” Melinda laughed, realizing that without any blankets, doing it on the sand might be quite uncomfortable.

“Awww, okay. First one back is on top!”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Melinda and Phil raced each other back to the rental, Melinda easily beating him. “I always come out on top.”

“And I don’t mind,” Phil said as he wrapped his wife back in arms for another fun session.


	7. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and Melinda decide to stay at the beach house for a few more days.
> 
> Daisy finally makes the decision to go see Lincoln, despite knowing it could be a bad idea.
> 
> Daisy finds herself in a bad situation and texts Daniel, who goes to support her.
> 
> [Angst, alcohol abuse, verbal harassment, self-defense, trigger warnings]
> 
> -I had a hard time making Lincoln the bad guy, because I know so many people really like him, but I'm imagining who he was before he met Jiayang, when he would get drunk and angry and had a lot of problems.-  
> -And I never really thought he was a great match for Daisy, he was a bit too immature and hotheaded-  
> -I really like Daniel and Daisy together. It really worked for me-

Daisy got off the phone with her parents, who told her that they were staying an extra few days at the beach house. They’d told Leo that they would pay for the extra days themselves. Daisy had assured her parents that she’d be fine without Leo and Jemma staying at the house, who had to get back to their place to prep for an upcoming trip.

Of course, Daisy was planning on spending some time with Lincoln, who’d been begging to come see her. But she knew Leo and Jemma would certainly not approve, and neither would Daniel if Lincoln came over to the house.

She winced, Daniel and her weren’t quite a couple, but were close. They’d already been on two dates, and she really liked him. But with Lincoln wanting to see her, that also put a fire in her heart. She’d remembered her night with Lincoln, although it had ended in disaster, she couldn’t help of thinking of him in her arms.

She breathed, and made a decision. She’d go see Lincoln, and see if he really was the one for her. If seeing him again made her excited, then maybe she would just keep having Daniel be just a friend.

She texted Lincoln: [Hey, so my friends are finally going back to their place. So I’m free to hang. My parents are gone for a few more days. But let’s not meet at my house.]

Lincoln texted her back: [Agreed. I don’t want to ever hide in those bushes again.]

[Okay, maybe meet at a coffee shop?]

[Uh, I’m already at my buddy’s place. Let me text you the address.]

Daisy plugged in the address and saw that it was a couple miles away. She didn’t have a car at the moment, obviously her parents took Lola, and Melinda’s car was in the shop.

[Walking over now, it may take me a bit. I don’t have a car right now]

[No worries, see ya when I see ya]

Daisy made it to Lincoln’s buddy’s place, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Lincoln waiting for her on the curb. She immediately threw herself in his arms and gave him a kiss.

“Hey that’s my girl. I missed you,” Lincoln answered, pressing her against him tightly.

Daisy noticed alcohol on his breath as she had kissed him, “Lincoln, why do I smell alcohol on you?”

She pulled away from him.

“It’s all good, Daisy, just had one drink, come on, let’s go inside. My friend Deke wants to meet you,” Lincoln led her inside to find Deke, drinking what appeared to be Zima and dancing with a goth looking girl.

“Hey Deke, this is Daisy. Daisy, this is Deke. And Deke, your friend is?”

“I’m Snow, aren’t you a pretty butterfly,” Snow answered, coming over to Lincoln to caress him.

“Snow, that one is not yours, hands off,” Deke answered, obviously very drunk.

Daisy shook her head, “Lincoln, I don’t think…”

Before Daisy could continue, Lincoln handed her a Zima. “Come on, you gotta try these. Limited edition!”

Deke turned up the music loud, and him and Snow went to go make out on the couch. Daisy started feeling really uncomfortable.

“Hey, I need to use the restroom,” Daisy answered, realizing that she might be getting herself into a precarious situation.

She went to the restroom and immediately texted Daniel. [hey, made a stupid mistake and met up with Lincoln. He might be drunk, I might need help. please come to this address]

Daisy came out of the bathroom to see Lincoln smiling at her.

“Hey baby, let’s go to the bedroom, you all freshened up?” He brought her over to what appeared to be Lincoln’s bedroom. “Deke is letting me crash here until I find a job.”

Daisy sat down on the bed, wondering what Lincoln had been thinking. Deke’s house seemed like not a good place for a recovering alcoholic.

“Lincoln, you really shouldn’t be drinking,” Daisy answered, putting her hand in his.

“It’s just for tonight. I was nervous, and drinking calms me down a bit. Come on, try the Zima,” Lincoln sat closer to her.

“Okay, I’ll try some,” She replied, then a smile grew on her face. “Wow this is pretty good.”

Daisy had to admit, she’d really missed drinking alcohol. It’d been really hard to keep the straight and narrow. Besides, she was done with school, and she didn’t have work tomorrow. She could have a little fun with Lincoln, right?

Lincoln noticed she’d already downed a Zima. He had a feeling it would take her a few more to feel comfortable with the situation. Lincoln wasn’t exactly happy that Deke had brought her girlfriend over on the day he was supposed to meet up with Daisy, but he couldn’t really say anything to the guy who offered up a room for free.

Officially, Lincoln was supposed to be staying at his aunt’s place, the rehab center had vetted his aunt, to make sure there wouldn’t be alcohol available in the house. His aunt was not someone he wanted to stay with, so he’d made the excuse that he’d be looking for work for a few days.

So, Lincoln had gone dark, changed out his phone so that the rehab place couldn’t find him, nor his aunt. At least, for a few days. He had to see Daisy, and he didn’t think inviting her over to his very strict, old, creepy aunt was a way to see her for the first time in months. Although Lincoln had to admit, Deke’s place wasn’t much better, just on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Lincoln gave Daisy another Zima, which she downed pretty quickly. Now she seemed a bit more relaxed, and began to cuddle with Lincoln. “Oh I missed this,” Lincoln said, beginning to kiss her.

Lincoln reached under her shirt to take off her bra, and that’s when Daisy shot up. “Wait, Lincoln. This isn’t right. This is happening again. You are giving me drinks and now you are seducing me. This is not okay.”

Lincoln took his hand out from under her shirt, “Hey I thought you’d be happy to see me,” he said angrily.

“Lincoln, I wanted to meet up at a coffee shop, maybe go for a walk. Yes, maybe kiss too. But not get drunk and sleep together again. That didn’t end well for the both of us last time,” Daisy stood up and backed away from Lincoln, who looked like he was about to explode.

“I’ve spent 6 months texting you, thinking we were together. I thought we were, Daisy. I came out of there wanting you, wanting you so hard, and now you are rejecting me,” Lincoln began to raise his voice.

Daisy looked at him incredulously, “Lincoln, we’ve never been a thing. Yeah, we slept together. That’s true. And yes, I think you are hot, and I think we could be something together. But not like this. You’ve had more than one drink, haven’t you?”

Lincoln took a bottle of Zima and threw it against the door, “Yeah, so maybe I had four or five Zimas, what does it matter?” He began to close the distance to Daisy.

Daisy had been taught a lot of self defense since meeting her mom, May, and immediately kicked Lincoln in the knee, causing him to collapse. “I’m getting out and here, and calling the cops.”

“Daisy! Stop! Right now!” Lincoln tried to get up, but the pain in his knee stopped him. Daisy ran out into the house, her body trembling.

She realized then that her phone was back in the house. But then she looked up.

“Daniel?” She noticed Daniel sitting by his car, on the curb right outside of the house.

“Daisy, Daisy, are you okay? I came as soon as I saw your message!” Daniel grabbed her and held her close. Lincoln came out of the house limping.

“Hey, you must be her new boyfriend. She doesn’t want me anymore, that slut,” Lincoln spouted, drunker and angrier then he’d been in a long time.

Daniel ignored his insults, “I called the cops, and the rehab center, and Phil and Melinda. You are going away for awhile, bro.”

Lincoln started to rush Daniel, but Daniel easy sidestepped and Lincoln tripped over the curb and fell. Just in time for the cops the show up.

“Hey, everyone okay?” The officer said, seeing Lincoln on the ground with a bloodied knee.

“This guy has been harassing my friend. He’s drunk. He just got out of rehab. He also offered drinks to an underage woman,” Daniel said, giving his statement. An officer came by and gave Daisy a blanket.

“Did he hurt you?” The officer asked Daisy.

“No. Just yelled. He did begin to come at me, but I kicked him in the knee and ran out. I had texted Daniel to come get me as soon as I knew I was in a bad situation,” Daisy tried to keep calm, but her tears were flowing.

“You did well. Seems like you had some self-defense training. You’re Melinda’s daughter right? She’s pretty famous around here. Trained our newest cadets last year. And you did well to tell your friend you were here.” The officer said, finishing his report.

Once the police had everything they needed, including talking to Deke and Snow, they put Lincoln into the car to take him back to the rehab center. They also found several burner phones in his room and on his person, and told the rehab center that he’d made contact on the outside. He wasa sneaky one.

Daniel took Daisy back to her house, and made her tea while she cried on the couch. Melinda and Phil had texted to say that they were on their way and would be home in a few hours. Daniel assured them that Daisy was safe, at home, and he would keep his eye on her until they arrived.

“Thank you for helping me, Daniel. And giving me tea. Look, I’m really sorry about not telling you about Lincoln. I really like you. And I’ve enjoyed our dates. I just thought…well…I just thought because Lincoln was the first guy I slept with, that somehow I needed to be with him, that he was the one. That was a mistake,” Daisy answered, feeling ashamed sharing this with her almost boyfriend. But somehow, she knew that it would help her to share what’s been on her heart.

“That guy took advantage of you from the start. He wasn’t looking out for you. He was looking out for himself. He wanted someone to get drunk with and sleep with. He didn’t want a real relationship. If he did, he would have met you at a coffee shop, sober, and started a real friendship with you,” Daniel answered, wise beyond his years and seeing this happen among his army friends.

“I guess you are right. The two times I’ve spent one on one with him, he got me drunk and started kissing me. How can I be so stupid,” Daisy shook her head in disgust.

Daniel shrugged, “He’s scruffy looking, got that bad boy look, he is also smart, he did get into med school. But where he’s book smart, he’s very dumb in how to treat people. I know that can be attractive to some people, that sort of bad boy vibe. It’s why a lot of women just ignore me. I’m too nice, too put together, too old fashioned, they say.”

Daisy shook her head, “No, Daniel. That’s why I like you. We’ve been on two dates, and all you’ve done is a small peck on the lips. We’ve known each other for over a year, and you’ve never tried to do anything. You’ve just been a friend, someone I can talk to.”

Daniel smiled, “Thank you, Daisy. I do want to be with you. But I also need to make sure you won’t go running off to guys like Lincoln. They aren’t good for you, you are way too smart to be doing that.”

“Ugh, that’s exactly what dad would say.”

“And he’s right,” Daniel grabbed a seat next to Daisy on the couch but allowed for space in between them. He didn’t feel comfortable cuddling with Daisy after her ordeal. She needed the space.

Daisy sighed, “Yeah. I guess that’s why my dad likes you so much. You are a lot like him, in many ways. Geeky about history and cars. A kind gentleman. Wise.”

“Thanks Daisy, I’ll take that as a great compliment.”

“It is.”

Daniel and Daisy chatted more about life and ate some food until Phil and Melinda entered the house.

“Oh sweetie, I’m so happy you are okay.” Phil rushed up to her to wrap her in a tight bear hug.

“Thanks dad.”

Daisy told the whole story to her parents, and apologized by not telling them she had been in more contact with Lincoln. They praised her for letting Daniel know where she was when the situation seemed precarious and Melinda gave her a high five when she found out she used a self-defense technique to take out Lincoln.

Still, the whole story made Phil fume and it was all he could do to not walk down to the rehab center and punch out Lincoln. But Melinda talked him out of it, saying “two wrongs don’t make a right, Phil.”

Daniel had decided to let the family have some time on their own. Phil walked him back to his house. “Daniel, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for being there for Daisy. She likes you, a lot. Trust me. I know the whole situation is a bit awkward right now. But whether or not you two go further in your relationship, right now, she definitely needs your friendship.” Phil grabbed him gently by the shoulder.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Coulson.”

“Call me Phil. You’re part of the family now.”

“Thanks Phil.”,


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to finish off this fic off with a sweet Dousy Epilogue.
> 
> It was harder for me to write this fic than my Zephyr Boarding School one, because I don't have as much experience writing Daisy heavy content.
> 
> I also did some angsty chapters that really took it out of me.
> 
> Finished off this one and not sure if I'll write more in this AU, maybe eventually. I have some other AU's that I want to work on that I'm more excited about.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this and Zephyr Boarding School!

A few months later, Daniel decided to ask Daisy out officially. They’d been going on dates fairly often through the summer, but Daniel didn’t want to pressure her. She still had times where she was confused about Lincoln, and he wanted to give her time to sort out her feelings with him.

Before Daniel asked Daisy out, he’d asked Melinda and Phil if he could start dating Daisy. He knew it was old fashioned, but he also knew Daisy was okay with his chivalry. Besides, he also knew that Daisy could kick butt, and while she could handle herself in any situation, having a friend, er, boyfriend at her side couldn’t hurt.

Daniel had taken Daisy to the ice cream place where Melinda and Phil had first realized that they liked each other, back when they were all at the boarding school. Daisy had told Daniel the story, and he thought it was so sweet, that he decided ask her to date him at the ice cream shop.

“Daisy, you are beautiful, smart, you kick ass, and I love your smile. You are the strongest person I know. You make my life better, you make me a bette person. Will you be my girlfriend?” Daniel held her hand as she gazed into his eyes.

Daisy grasped his hand in return, “Yes, Daniel. You’ve shown me what true friendship is. What a true relationship looks like. Thank you for being there in my lowest of lows and my highest of highs.”

The two shared a small kiss, then fed each other ice cream. It was a super sweet moment. Phil and Melinda were looking from outside the window, snapping photos. Their daughter had found someone who cherished her, someone that would bring her up and not bring her down. While they knew, that Daisy needed no man to complete her, they also knew how important it was to have a companion, someone to join life in. Life wasn’t meant to be lived alone, as Melinda always said. Whether the life was shared with friends or a romantic partner, it should always be shared.


End file.
